WEBVTT 00:00:00.970 --> 00:00:11.490 Glory be to Jesus Christ. I want to begin the 00:00:11.490 --> 00:00:21.190 homily by quoting from the 14th chapter of John's 00:00:21.190 --> 00:00:28.250 Gospel. This particular passage is most relevant. 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:32.899 And speaks to the festival. Which we celebrate 00:00:32.899 --> 00:00:42.119 today. And I quote. Philip said. Jesus. Show 00:00:42.119 --> 00:00:50.020 us the father. And it is sufficient for us. And 00:00:50.020 --> 00:00:55.799 Jesus said to him. Philip. Have I been with you 00:00:55.799 --> 00:01:05.069 so long. And yet. You have not known me. He who 00:01:05.069 --> 00:01:12.849 has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you 00:01:12.849 --> 00:01:22.129 say, show us the Father? It's a text that is 00:01:22.129 --> 00:01:28.709 relevant to the understanding of the feast day. 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:33.799 which we celebrate today. On this first Sunday 00:01:33.799 --> 00:01:39.859 of Orthodoxy, Christians throughout the world 00:01:39.859 --> 00:01:44.420 are celebrating and commemorating in various 00:01:44.420 --> 00:01:53.480 ways the event which is called the Sunday of 00:01:53.480 --> 00:02:00.500 the Triumph of Orthodoxy. This day marks the 00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:06.120 day on which the ancient tradition of venerating 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:14.759 the icons was reinstated. Historically speaking, 00:02:15.159 --> 00:02:21.599 this event was first celebrated in Constantinople 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:29.909 in the year 843 and had been And has been celebrated 00:02:29.909 --> 00:02:36.870 continuously up to this very day. It is only 00:02:36.870 --> 00:02:45.430 however after serious controversy. Which shook 00:02:45.430 --> 00:02:50.250 the very foundation of the church. Very serious 00:02:50.250 --> 00:02:56.069 persecutions. And the martyrdom of thousands 00:02:56.069 --> 00:03:02.530 of Christians. That eventually the truth prevailed. 00:03:02.830 --> 00:03:12.650 As it always will. By God's will. The practice 00:03:12.650 --> 00:03:22.050 of venerating icons. Was not something. That. 00:03:23.849 --> 00:03:33.669 came about in a way which many today consider 00:03:33.669 --> 00:03:46.870 simply adornments of the church. And there is 00:03:46.870 --> 00:03:51.000 another aspect to this celebration. that should 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:57.439 be thoroughly emphasized. It was not simply a 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:06.879 matter of different approaches to religious paintings 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:13.020 that caused this serious disruption in the church. 00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:21.160 The iconoclasts, that is those who violently 00:04:21.160 --> 00:04:29.000 opposed the veneration of the icons, were eventually 00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:38.639 considered heretics. Because they were destroying 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:44.339 the very essence, the very foundation, the very 00:04:44.339 --> 00:04:50.850 core of Christianity. That is to say, God, In 00:04:50.850 --> 00:04:59.430 becoming man. Assume the material nature. And 00:04:59.430 --> 00:05:03.790 that's why I refer to. Even today. There are 00:05:03.790 --> 00:05:10.110 many. Churches. Non -orthodox of course. That 00:05:10.110 --> 00:05:15.829 have removed every vestige. Of iconography. But 00:05:15.829 --> 00:05:19.970 it was the fathers of the 7th century. The Seventh 00:05:19.970 --> 00:05:27.769 Ecumenical Council that reaffirmed and decreed 00:05:27.769 --> 00:05:33.610 that icon veneration has not only a scriptural 00:05:33.610 --> 00:05:41.569 basis, but in fact has a profound devotional, 00:05:41.629 --> 00:05:46.529 spiritual, educational value and significance. 00:05:50.699 --> 00:05:57.860 Icons, my dear people, are important because 00:05:57.860 --> 00:06:06.060 they witness and authenticate to what the Bible 00:06:06.060 --> 00:06:11.920 clearly teaches. And as we as Orthodox Christians 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:16.279 have been celebrating throughout the centuries, 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:23.279 icons have something to do. and witness to God, 00:06:23.540 --> 00:06:31.699 the nature of Christ, the world, and our salvation 00:06:31.699 --> 00:06:37.819 has something to do with St. Paul referred to 00:06:37.819 --> 00:06:42.240 as the countless witnesses, the cloud of witnesses 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:51.980 of saints, and even relics. So one thing that 00:06:51.980 --> 00:06:57.139 I want to strongly emphasize is that they are 00:06:57.139 --> 00:07:03.660 not religious paintings, adornments, and decorative 00:07:03.660 --> 00:07:12.939 items. Rather, they speak clearly, distinctly 00:07:12.939 --> 00:07:18.920 beyond the categories of yesterday and today. 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:26.279 Because they are revelations of truth. They are 00:07:26.279 --> 00:07:32.600 a visual gospel which reflect the saving grace 00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:42.899 and transformation of the material world. You 00:07:42.899 --> 00:07:47.879 could say they are non -verbal expressions of 00:07:47.879 --> 00:07:57.560 theology. in form and color. They are positive 00:07:57.560 --> 00:08:03.459 and spiritual means of teaching, explaining, 00:08:03.660 --> 00:08:12.100 preserving and promoting the good news of our 00:08:12.100 --> 00:08:19.779 salvation. What God became, when God became man, 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:29.720 he assumed our nature. He stepped into the stream 00:08:29.720 --> 00:08:36.019 of our time, of our history, and he came to offer 00:08:36.019 --> 00:08:43.340 not a moral code which you hear from the televangelists. 00:08:44.590 --> 00:08:51.269 He came to save us, to reclaim us, to renew us, 00:08:51.389 --> 00:08:58.190 to sanctify life, both the soul and the body, 00:08:58.289 --> 00:09:06.750 both the spiritual and physical world. St. Paul 00:09:06.750 --> 00:09:12.190 teaches in Christ, all things have become new. 00:09:14.440 --> 00:09:21.779 Thus the person we see in some of the icons are 00:09:21.779 --> 00:09:30.080 not physically represented. They are represented 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:35.919 in spiritual and transfigured terms. Because 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:41.779 Christ came to establish the world as a sacrament. 00:09:45.929 --> 00:09:48.889 And each Sunday when I come, I make particular 00:09:48.889 --> 00:09:52.190 attention to that icon of St. John of Damascus 00:09:52.190 --> 00:10:03.129 who said that I worship the God of matter who 00:10:03.129 --> 00:10:07.570 became matter. That is to say, who took on human 00:10:07.570 --> 00:10:15.779 flesh to work out my salvation. Through matter. 00:10:20.899 --> 00:10:25.799 Icons even speak. Directly and indirectly. To 00:10:25.799 --> 00:10:33.240 ecology. Because we are not. To destroy. God's 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:43.659 beauty. They speak and reflect. Not this world. 00:10:45.289 --> 00:10:48.750 Hence the difference in the presentation of icons. 00:10:50.409 --> 00:10:57.110 Because this world is alienated from God. It 00:10:57.110 --> 00:11:02.190 is a broken and sinful world. And so the icon 00:11:02.190 --> 00:11:07.590 then is a transfigured and redeemed, renewed 00:11:07.590 --> 00:11:15.429 aspect of life. Teaching. And revealing the death 00:11:15.429 --> 00:11:21.190 and resurrection of Christ and the renewal of 00:11:21.190 --> 00:11:29.970 life. Again, St. Paul says, Christ is the image 00:11:29.970 --> 00:11:35.549 of the invisible God. Who, by him all things 00:11:35.549 --> 00:11:41.129 were created that are in heaven. And there are 00:11:41.129 --> 00:11:53.850 on earth. They are united in one aspect. All 00:11:53.850 --> 00:11:57.389 of the icons. Because they are unique meeting 00:11:57.389 --> 00:12:05.090 place. And can become the divine encounter between 00:12:05.090 --> 00:12:14.169 believers. and the heavenly realm. Some time 00:12:14.169 --> 00:12:22.289 ago I gave an illustration of why icons do relate 00:12:22.289 --> 00:12:31.669 to us in a very intense way. And I want to again 00:12:31.669 --> 00:12:38.620 quote that illustration because it serves as 00:12:38.620 --> 00:12:46.639 a medium for our understanding of why the icons 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:58.220 place in our life a redeemed possibility. This 00:12:58.220 --> 00:13:01.659 event that I want to speak of took place in Vietnam 00:13:01.659 --> 00:13:12.320 during the Tet Offensive. No mail was coming 00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:20.779 in or going out because of the situation. There 00:13:20.779 --> 00:13:26.799 was a young lieutenant, non -orthodox, who loved 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:30.840 to come to the liturgy. And he sang beautifully. 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:39.240 I never opposed him singing. But I noticed after 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:45.159 the liturgy, he never venerated any icons, nor 00:13:45.159 --> 00:13:56.299 the cross, nor any of the saints. It was on a 00:13:56.299 --> 00:14:01.919 Sunday afternoon when they announced that we 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:07.320 could go to the post office and pick up our mail. 00:14:09.929 --> 00:14:12.690 And the lieutenant said, Father, can I go with 00:14:12.690 --> 00:14:16.710 you? I said, yeah, you sure could, because I 00:14:16.710 --> 00:14:25.610 can drive the jeep anyway. So we went, and my 00:14:25.610 --> 00:14:30.009 box was above his, a couple inches above his. 00:14:32.750 --> 00:14:39.870 I took out my mail, and I saw what he did. The 00:14:39.870 --> 00:14:46.470 first thing he did was kiss the mail he received 00:14:46.470 --> 00:14:55.590 from his wife. And he began to shed tears. He 00:14:55.590 --> 00:14:58.990 said, how foolish. How foolish of me, Father. 00:15:00.330 --> 00:15:06.070 This is a piece of dirty mail. And yet, the first 00:15:06.070 --> 00:15:12.759 thing I did was to kiss it. Because the kiss 00:15:12.759 --> 00:15:24.080 I gave was the one I gave to my wife. When we 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:30.860 come to church, we venerate the icon. Not the 00:15:30.860 --> 00:15:36.159 wood or the paint, but that, the one who is represented. 00:15:38.860 --> 00:15:43.019 And in that act of devotion and worship, we acknowledge 00:15:43.019 --> 00:15:48.360 that God has worked through that particular saint 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:55.679 and has redeemed him. And that's why they are 00:15:55.679 --> 00:16:00.940 signs and presence of the beauty and holiness 00:16:00.940 --> 00:16:07.779 of God. They are, in a sense, books of piety. 00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:15.980 Visual aids. A scriptural commentary. Expressing 00:16:15.980 --> 00:16:22.259 the unchanging truth. In the Bible. That the 00:16:22.259 --> 00:16:30.120 church. In a language. And in a form. Speaks 00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:39.139 to everyone. At every age. Notice. And they often 00:16:39.139 --> 00:16:43.200 do. Little children come up. They can't reach 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:47.779 the icon. What will they do? They'll cross themselves. 00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:52.820 And kiss the icon. And kiss the cross. What a 00:16:52.820 --> 00:16:59.879 beautiful act. Of devotion. You know our patron 00:16:59.879 --> 00:17:06.180 saint. The blessed wonder worker seraphim. Once 00:17:06.180 --> 00:17:11.990 said. indicated here on the icon. The purpose 00:17:11.990 --> 00:17:16.549 of Christian life is to acquire the Holy Spirit. 00:17:18.069 --> 00:17:22.329 Now ask, and I ask you, what does this mean to 00:17:22.329 --> 00:17:27.789 acquire the image and likeness of God? That image 00:17:27.789 --> 00:17:32.410 and likeness of God which was marred and disfigured 00:17:32.410 --> 00:17:43.259 by sin. Our destiny, my dear people. As icons. 00:17:43.819 --> 00:17:48.579 We are icons of the living God. The image is 00:17:48.579 --> 00:17:52.680 like this. And that is why the celebrant always 00:17:52.680 --> 00:17:59.559 senses you. Recognizing you as a redeemed person. 00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:05.779 An icon. Representing God's choices. creation. 00:18:06.859 --> 00:18:13.799 We are, as the New Testament teaches, partakers 00:18:13.799 --> 00:18:18.259 of divinity. Each one of us is called to be a 00:18:18.259 --> 00:18:31.240 saint. If this Sunday of the celebration of Orthodoxy 00:18:31.240 --> 00:18:36.740 has something to say to us, it is this. It's 00:18:36.740 --> 00:18:42.900 a joyful event. More than an annual ceremony. 00:18:43.900 --> 00:18:49.000 Because today, individually and collectively, 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:56.200 we reaffirm and proclaim our oneness in Christ. 00:18:56.920 --> 00:19:07.180 We recognize and confess That one and that each 00:19:07.180 --> 00:19:17.400 of us, each of us is an icon redeemed by the 00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:25.019 grace of God. We acknowledge that our rich heritage 00:19:25.019 --> 00:19:31.640 and diverse heritage is not a burden to be carried. 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:40.619 but rather a blessing to be shared. In the year 00:19:40.619 --> 00:19:46.480 430, St. Nihilus the Sinait wrote, Let the hand 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:51.119 of the iconographer fill the church with icons 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:55.180 from the Old and New Testament, which we are 00:19:55.180 --> 00:20:04.819 doing. Let the hand of the iconographer Teach 00:20:04.819 --> 00:20:11.740 us, or those who cannot read, teach us about 00:20:11.740 --> 00:20:17.099 the Bible. By looking at the icons, bring to 00:20:17.099 --> 00:20:22.920 our, not only our minds, but our hearts, the 00:20:22.920 --> 00:20:26.599 good deeds of those who have served and loved 00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:31.000 the Lord with reference. And we are called to 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:36.579 do the same. And to him, our gracious and loving 00:20:36.579 --> 00:20:41.099 God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we honor and 00:20:41.099 --> 00:20:41.480 worship.